A dog behaviouralist has gone viral after alerting viewers to the two most prominent mistakes he sees pet owners commit when training their pooch.
Will Atherton has racked up a mammoth following of more than 881,000 TikTok users since he started sharing his pearls of wisdom on dog training.
Viewers were recently taken aback when the influencer drew their attention to two common mistakes people accidentally commit around dogs.
“These are the worst things that you accidentally do with your dog accidentally every single day,” the content creator declared.
“As a canine behaviourist, I specialise in [the] things [that] go terribly wrong with dogs, which also means I see the reasons why those bad things happened.”
The first fault committed by pet owners is letting food sit in a bowl for their dog all day long.
Getting specific meal times will implement a positive association between food and feeding time with their owners.
“Not only are you missing out on a massive opportunity to help train your dog, but you’re also missing out on a massive opportunity to build a relationship with your dog, where all the best things in life come through you,” noted Atherton.
He added: “Stop leaving food down for your dog to have access to whenever they want.”
@iamwillatherton The worst things you accidentally do with your dog #fyp #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips ♬ original sound – Will Atherton
The best approach, according to Will, is placing serve the food at specific times and adhere to this routine consistently.
Secondly, Atherton notices a tendency to reinforce separation anxiety in pets. Although the unwanted behaviour is primarily triggered by an owner’s departure, it arises due to a combination of risk factors, that can encompass the dog’s temperament.
Atherton explained that most dog owners exacerbate the issue, however, by making a point to their pets that they’re leaving and returning.
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“When you leave and when you return, and leave you to return, stop getting your dog so hyped up, [by] telling them that everything is going to be okay [before leaving].”
Equally, he adds: “Stop telling them how much you miss them when you come home, you’re creating separation anxiety.”
The clip received more than 617,000 lives and just under 3,00 comments from appreciative viewers who admitted to committing the mistakes mentioned.
One commentator confessed: “Yes, I’m guilty of that… it’s my own separation anxiety… Thank you! Will work on this.”
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